Youth Youth Youth
by DominoMags
Summary: Marnie is in her hotel room practicing smiling for her fans. Meanwhile, Gloria is bored and looking for something to do. Cuteness occurs.


Gloria wandered through the hallways of the Budew Drop Inn. It was still a blur. She couldn't believe she was the new Champion. It was hard to believe she had beaten her best mate's big brother in a climactic battle in the championships, let alone the top trainer in the region. And now here she was, rocking some legendary Pokemon, a new look, and Galar championship.

The young girl had actually always thought Hop would be the one to clinch it. He had been studying Leon from the beginning and had even had his own Pokemon before Gloria had even started. Instead, he had fallen behind her. It led to an existential crossroads for the boy, culminating in his goal to be a professor like Sonia and her gran. Gloria could respect that.

"Ah s'pose ah should get somethin' to nosh on. I haven't really explored this city properly."

The young girl considered taking a train from Motostoke to Wyndon. She wondered if there was a "Bob's Yer Uncle" around the largest city in the region. She could have sworn she had seen an advert for one.

Leon, hop, and her ended up eating at a Kanto style restaurant last time around. The sushi was spectacular, but she could go for something hearty. Curry? She had that last night. Maybe a shepherd's pie.

Was that Marnie's room? The door was ajar. The leather clad girl from Spikemuth didn't seem like a social butterfly outside her fan club, but maybe she had company.

What Gloria had wandered in on made her heart squeeze in her chest. The punk girl was giving her best attempts at smiling for the fans while her Morpeko have support. Gloria could feel her face heat up.

"Why is this girl so gawdamn cute? Ah'm gonnae die, I swear tae bloody arceus!" Thought the girl from Postwick, hair recently styled and colored from a trip to the salon.

"You...didn't see that." Marnie was embarrassed and went to run.

"Right. Course not. But before he dash off, a little pointer? Try this?" Gloria stopped the embarrassed girl before she could say the word "scarper" and gave a natural smile, complete with a pose like the one she chose for her trainer card. She continued.

"Ye gotta lotta fans, Marnie. Think of them. Or, like, the most precious thing on the planet. Once ye do that, he'll have a smile that can cut through a rainy day."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." The dark-haired girl blushed as she wiped hair from her eyes.

"Ah'm goin' fer dinner. Right famished. Wanna come with?" the champion offered, hand extended.

"I...sure but don't get the wrong idea. I'm hungry too. Sides that, wanna make sure you don't keep bitin' my style" Marnie huffed.

"Of course. We're rivals. We can see who eats fastest til we hurl. Loser pays the check." The new champion winked. She couldn't resist a bit of teasing or mischief. Hop knew all too well from the instance with the Ball guy mask. Several instances in fact. She still never got her mask back.

"Hm. I s'pose we could do that. Battlin's more my thing but sure" the Spikemuth gym leader nodded

"Aye, it's a date then." The new champion nudged, her curly bob of hair bouncing ever slightly.

"Oi, wait! W-who said anything about a date? In case you forgot, I'm aiming to thrash you," Spikemuth's equally fresh-faced gym leader protested, trying to hide the red in her cheeks.

Gloria laughed gently as she played with the zipper on her leather jacket.

"I said something about a date...if it's weird or anything, we dun hafta."

"N-no. Shut up. I never said no. Sure. I know a place I have been thinkin' bout checking out. I'll have yer arse if you let anyone know about this or the smile thing, though...I swear."

Gloria smiled and held her hands up. There were several jokes she could have made but decided against it. She fancied this girl and didn't want to ruin it just yet.

"Easy. Champion's promise. Besides, why would I tell anyone? The only thing folks should be chattin' about In regards to us is our rematch: Champion Gloria vs Gym Leader Marnie. A rivalry to… well, rival Leon and Raihan."

Marnie gigglesnorted at the repetitive choice of words, her soft laugh showing a crack in her tough punk rock armor.

"Alright, alright. No need to make a big deal of it, mate. Come with me."

"Aye. Lead the way, Ms. Gym Leader."

"That's Ms. Future champion to you."

"Whoa there, lass. We're what, 12? No need to go proposin'"

Oh, what the heck. It was a date. A little teasing was alright.

"I said "Miss", you git. Don't make me regret going out with you," Marnie pouted as she punched the other girl's arm.

"Right. Sorry. Blimey, that smarts. Ye been hittin' the gym? The human gym, I mean."

"My secret. C'mon then. Before we burn daylight," Marnie smiled. They walked together and headed into town, deciding to make the most of things.

X

There were some places on Motostoke, but nothing that really grabbed the two trainers' fancy. They had perused a few shops before taking the train to Wyndon. Sure enough, there was a "Bob's Yer Uncle", as well as a food court with cuisine from all over the world, from Unova to Kalos.

The two settled on Bob's and were promptly seated. They both started with water and tea as they broke the silence with light conversation.

"So ye get to meet the other gym leaders? Like, in the minor leagues and what not?"

"Yea. They don't exactly have their own facilities at the minute. They exist and get to utilize existing gyms during their season or our they win, but they don't get the spotlight the heavy hitters do. Even newcomers like Bede and I are more household names."

"Still can't believe you two are gym leaders already. Your bro seems to want to focus on his music and Opal is like, super old."

"Sopp is cool. I'll introduce you sometime. He was in a band with my brother. Piers often jokes that he wanted a female bassist but Sopp was still the best one he could have asked for. He used to crash on our couch when his parents kicked him out for not being the daughter they wanted."

"Yeesh! That is dreadful. Ah can't believe some parents are like that."

"Me mum died when I was young. Piers stepped up and watched me while our dad was out most of the time. He worked in the factory a lot," the former gym challenger had started to stare solemnly at her drink, looking up to see her rival staring sadly across the table.

"Sorry, Marnie. Need a shoulder, mate?"

Marnie shook her head and took another dip of her water.

"I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me. I got plenty cheering me on...but thanks."

"Of course. Ah prefer battlin' with Pokemon, not with fists. Ah'm surprised ah can throw a pokeball properly. Too uncoordinated to punch anyone. Plus ah do t think ah have it in me. But ah would punch him."

"He's a great big bloke" the girl from Spikemuth eyed her fellow trainer incredulously.

"Don't care. I play tug of war with a bloody dragon. Ah can take him." Gloria flexed an arm and grinned.

"Probably not but I appreciate it. Our gran helped watch us but she was getting up in years, so we had to watch after her up until she passed last year."

The food was piping it as it came out, the aromas wafting under the young girl's noses. Their mouths watered as they prepared to dig in.

Gloria smiled as she dug into her shepherd's pie while Marnie had some veggie curry, a giant leek sticking out of her plate like a sword from a legend. It seemed a lot of legends involved swords or Pokemon. Sometimes they featured both.

"That hit the spot. Can't lie. Ya got the check, Gloria?"

X

What started as just a meal turned into a shopping trip. The girls stopped by a clothing shop and a record store. Spikemuth wasn't known for its shopping district, but Marnie had grown up cutting her teeth on second-hand stores and co-ops. Gloria wasn't exactly a rich girl herself, though she probably had a nicer place than her rival had growing up.

"You like this band too?" Gloria shouldn't have been surprised that the other girl was into this type of music. She certainly fit the aesthetic. Plus her brother was a musician. Still, to know they had similar tastes was rather neat. It felt like they had more in common than just being gym challengers who rose quickly into larger roles or kids with a lot riding on their futures.

"Of course. Roxy is an icon. Galar does it better most of the time, but she is one of my favorite artists out of Unova. Not to mention the Faint Attack. Great band. Karen is the Growlithe's bollocks. I wanted to be like her and the Sinnoh champion Cynthia growing up. I have a penpal in Alola who sent me a signed photo of her. Cynthia, I mean."

"Why haven't we hung out more?" The girl from Postwick beamed. She was in pleasantly shocked. The more she got to know the reserved girl, the more she grew to enjoy her company

"I mean. The gym challenge kept us proper busy. Plus I didn't want to go breedin' no familiarity," Marnie twirled a few strands of hair from her bangs around her finger while bashfully picking at her curry.

"Aye. That." Gloria took a sip of tea, followed by another bite of food.

"I am surprised you like a lot of the same bands as me. Course, you have been dressin' the part the more I saw of you," her date glanced over at the Morpeko to her side, who had started to scamper over to the current champion.

"Punk's more'an just fashion. It's a way of life. Besides, Spikemuth ain't the only little town with street cred."

Marnie smiled. "You're right. We should do this more. Morpeko seems to agree."

"Urara!" the small rodent cheered, nuzzling Gloria.

"Heh. Guess so, she responded by scratching the pokemon behind the ears.

"I'm done. Wannae head out?"

"Ye."

The evening wound down with the lights of the city illuminating the crisp black night. The less energetic girl had come out of her shell, posing for selfies in front of a fountain and chasing Pidove with Gloria after the former had made a wardrobe change into a leather jacket, tartan skirt, and gengar t-shirt.

"I won't lie. That was more fun than I expected. It is nice to just explore and get to know others outside challenging them."

"I don't know, Marn. I feel I got a proper impression of you from battling you. And we've got a wicked brilliant spirit about ye."

"Stop." The punk girl squeaked, trying to hide a growing smile on her face. She cursed not buying a jacket with a hood.

"Sorry. Didn't mean tae embarrass he. It's just good to have another girl as a rival. Hop is my bezzy mate and Bede is...less of an arse nowadays, but I dunno. I liked this."

"Don't get used to it. I mean, I might be open to it again, but don't forget. I'll be picking up that championship from you.

"Naturally. I'll keep it warm for us. Ah'll see you in the finals, Marnie."

"Yeah. Cuz I'll be kickin' your butt...it was nice though. Muckin' about like this. Don't get the wrong idea. I won't hold back… I said all that already, didn't I… well, night."

"Neither will I. And no worries. Cheers!"

The two young girls turned back to look at each other before heading back to their rooms. Their rivalry had grown and would indeed continue. But so too had their bond.

I felt like doing a cute Pokemon thing based off that one post-game scene in Sword and shield. I can probably flesh it out more but I also have the option to edit this after the fact.

I based Gloria's look here off of one of the ones I tried out in my play through of Shield. I also referenced the Pokemon Sword/ Shield manga special, because why not?

Or should I say...Wynaut?

No. I absolutely should not.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy. As always, feel free to offer critique so I can grow.

Also, I have to go to work in the morning, but enjoy the Pokemon direct. I posted this fic today to coincide with that. Peace!

P.S.: the title is based off of a song by an old UK Punk band called Generation X. It featured a frontman named Billy Idol, who went on to do absolutely nothing of note. :P

Cheers


End file.
